Joey isn’t the brightest bulb in the bunch of Friends, so he definitely had his fair share of cringeworthy moments over the years. In fact, many of these moments turned into jokes, so his cringe-worthy moments were most welcome for the purpose of audience entertainment.
Still, you can’t help but feel sorry for Joey from time to time, as some of said moments were incredibly embarrassing or ensured some kind of downfall for him. Then again, part of those moments is what made Joey so hilarious and loveable. He could laugh at himself, and it was a great quality of his. That said, here are 10 of Joey’s most cringeworthy moments on the show.
Couldn’t Crack The Part Of A Butt Double
Joey thinks he’s finally got his big break when he lands the part of Al Pacino’s butt double in a movie.
It’s a little embarrassing for a big breakout part, but everyone has to start somewhere. What makes the whole thing so terribly cringe-worthy is that Joey messes up his own big break by overacting of all things and is fired from the part. He couldn’t get his own butt to work for a single shower scene. Ouch.
Had No Insurance To Fix His Hernia Problem
Joey loses his insurance just when he needs it the most. He refuses to accept money from Chandler to get it fixed so he doesn’t have the debt hanging over his head, and does his best going to auditions with his injury, resulting in some pretty awkward moments, especially in a commercial audition with a little boy.
While that experience is cringeworthy, it’s even worse that Joey had to endure so much pain and had to work while dealing with said pain. He’s got serious determination and pain tolerance, but it did win him the part of a dying patient, which seemed fitting given the circumstances.
Bragged About Writing His Own Lines
In an interview, Joey claims that he writes most of his own lines for Days of Our Lives, which gets him booted off the show rather violently, considering Dr. Drake Ramoray falls down an elevator shaft. Joey had waited several years for an opportunity, and he doesn’t have it for very long before he unintentionally gets himself kicked off.
Joey’s dream went down the elevator shaft with his character for a bit, as it took him a little while to get back on his feet and find other roles. You had to feel bad for Joey on this one.
Feigned Having A Porsche
When Joey finds the keys to a Porsche in Central Perk, he goes a little overboard. He likes the attention he receives from people who think he’s got a sports car and even goes as far as to purchase Porsche merchandise.
The most embarrassing step, however, was when he positioned the boxes beneath a tarp to look like a Porsche and was discovered. Big time ouch, but sometimes you have to learn the hard way.
Hired An Actor To Play His Identical Twin
Joey is desperate to be a part of a hospital study, but he’s got a problem. He needs an identical twin to do it and get the big payday with it. He decides to hire someone to be his twin, but Joey being Joey doesn’t quite grasp the concept and hires Carl, who does share certain similarities with him but is by no means identical.
Joey has to find this out the hard way when he gets to the hospital and the doctor outright states the two aren’t identical twins (awkward), to which Joey exclaims his favored line in this particular episode “Damn it, Carl!”
Joey’s Smelly Day
Joey goes out on a fishing trip with his father, but never finds the time to take a shower to rid himself of the smell emanating from him until he’s on-set. Unfortunately, he’s caught in the shower by Charlton Heston, the star of the movie Joey is in. It just happened to be Heston’s shower in the dressing room, and this results in a serious conversation between Heston and Joey, who only has a towel covering him, regarding acting.
It’s too bad Joey waited so long to take a shower because this was a heck of an awkward situation to encounter with Charlton Heston of all people.
Accidentally Proposes To Rachel
After Rachel has given birth, Joey accidentally finds the ring that Ross’s mother gave to Ross. In a wrong-time, wrong-place circumstance, Rachel mistakenly thinks he’s proposing, though he actually doesn’t.
Joey is stuck trying to explain to Ross and Rachel what really happened, making for one heck of a nightmare. Rachel was vulnerable and afraid of raising Emma alone, so she readily accepted Joey’s “proposal”, which raised some questions too. The whole ordeal was cringeworthy.
Gets In The Entertainment Unit Willingly
While Joey is trying to make a sale on the entertainment center, the potential buyer tricks Joey into getting into it, where he’s locked inside while the buyer robs Joey and Chandler out of house and home. It wasn’t the smartest move on Joey’s part, and both he and Chandler paid dearly for it.
Though, one good thing that came out of the experience was that it gave Joey the idea to have Chandler do some thinking in a box after Chandler kisses Kathy while she’s still with Joey. C’est la vie.
Saved A Sandwich Over His Friends
While out on a ride-along with Phoebe’s boyfriend at the time, the guys hear a car backfire. Believing it to be a gunshot at first, they all react, but it’s Joey who makes a dive towards Ross. Joey goes along with everyone’s assumption that he was trying to save Ross, until Chandler confronts him, as he’s hurt Joey didn’t try to save his life too. That’s when Joey confesses he was trying to save his sandwich.
Apparently, it’s the best meatball sandwich money can buy. But still, risking your life for a sandwich? Only in Joey’s mind does that make sense.
Rejected By Rachel
Joey agonizes over his developing feelings for Rachel for the longest time. He doesn’t pursue her primarily because of Ross, but when he finally does let down his walls and confess his feelings for her, she doesn’t take him seriously. At least, in the beginning.
Still, it was heartbreaking the way Joey laid everything out on the table and Rachel didn’t return his feelings. It’s certainly cringe-worthy when you let yourself be that vulnerable and face rejection, but if you don’t, you’ll never know what could’ve been. It’s cruel because Rachel makes up a crazy work story to get Joey to talk to her again afterward, and then she eventually pursues him, only for them to not end up together. The whole thing between these two is cringeworthy, possessing massive amounts of heartache and confusion.
